


Love Will Prevail

by mihomi98



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-04-28
Packaged: 2018-03-25 01:23:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3791374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mihomi98/pseuds/mihomi98
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>James is absolutely crazy about Lily, who still hates him. On the train to Hogwarts, Lily over hears something that James tells his friends. JPLE, RLSB. Repost from fanfiction.net. Written in 2008.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was September 1, and the Potters had to get to the train station by 11:00 AM. The only people awake in the house was Mrs. Potter and her husband, the boys still fast asleep, dreaming peacefully. Mrs. Potter went up to her sons room to see if he was up. Upon seeing he was still fast asleep, she said, "James! Get up! You don't want to miss the Hogwarts Express, do you?"

James Slowly woke as his mother shook him. "Alright, alright! I'm awake!" he said, followed by a mumbled, "I was in the middle of a great dream..." He could only vaguely remember the dream. One part stood out in his mind. Lily was there, and she had finally accepted his request to go out with him. They were happy together, just like James had always known they would be. "If only she would say yes in real life..." he said quietly to himself.

"What was that, Jamesie?" Sirius said, laughing. He had come to live with the Potters after running away from home earlier that summer. "If only  _who_ would say yes to  _what_ , Jamesie? Dreaming about Evans again?"

"Shuddup," James grumbled, a deep crimson blush creeping up his neck. "I think Lily might say yes to me this year. It's just a hunch, but it's a strong hunch."

Sirius sighed. ( **a/n- alliteration!)** He wasn't sure that Lily would end up saying yes, but he hoped, for the sake of his friend's sanity, that she would. He didn't know if James' heart would be able to take it if she said no again. "You really love her, don't you, James?"

James looked away, his eyes hooded. "Yeah, I do. More than life itself." Every time Lily had said no, his heart broke a little bit more. He was near his breaking point. He didn't know how many more rejections he could take.

"Maybe this year, you should try something different. Be more subtle, don't try so hard to get her to like you," Sirius suggested. "Show her with you actions, rather than with your words, that you love her. But, don't overdue it. You don't want to scare her."

"Maybe if I get more mature and stop pulling pranks..." James said, thinking. Sirius had a look of shock on his face. He was having trouble imagining his best-friend-nearly-brother not pulling pranks but, he knew that if James truly wanted to change his ways and stop pulling pranks, nothing would stop him. Well, nothing except for Lily Evans.

"Boys! Come on downstairs!" Mr. Potter called form the kitchen. "It's time for breakfast! Alyse made all of your favorites!"

The boys walked into the kitchen, and sat down at the table. "Bacon, eggs, biscuits, and gravy," Mrs. Potter confirmed. Those were truly the boys favorite foods. "And, Sirius, I also made those turkey sausages that you like so much."

Sirius licked his lips hungrily as his and James' stomachs rumbled. "Thanks, Mrs. Potter!" He said grinning. He then began to shove all of the sausages into his mouth, eating them all withing a couple of minutes. James laughed at how quickly Sirius inhaled the meat.

"Hungry, Padfoot?" James teased. The only responser he got was Sirius sticking his tongue out at him before laughing. "Very mature, Sirius."

Five minutes later, all of the food was gone. James' parents walked into the kitchen. "The portkey is ready. Do you two have everything that you need for school?'When James and Sirius nodded, Alyse Potter gestured towards an old worn sock laying on the table. "Alright then. Everyone grab on in 3...2...1..." As everyone grabbed the sock, they were thrown into a swirling mass of time and space. They landed at the station a few short moments later.

"Hmm, I wonder why Moony and Wormtail are..." Sirius wondered, looking around.

"I wonder where Lily is?" James thought, also looking around. It appeared as though James was looking for his other friends as well rather than for the love of his life. When he saw her, his stomach clenched. Harrison Wood was flirting with her like crazy, and she was flirting back.

"What are you looking at, Prongs?" Remus asked after seeing James murderous expression. He followed James line of sight. "Oh. I see."

"Prongs, remember what you said earlier. You want to be more subtle about your feelings for her, and killing Wood isn't exactly being subtle. Be cool," Sirius reminded James.

James looked away. "Come on, lets go and find a compartment," he murmured. He kept his eyes forward, not letting them stray away for any length of time. He was hoping that Lily wouldn't see him. Unfortunately for him, she did.

"Oi, Potter!" she called. "What, no pre-train pranks? No asking me out just so I can say no over and over, again and again?" She laughed.

"Nope." James turned to look Lily in the eyes. Lily gasped inwardly at what she saw. Pain and hurt was evident in his eyes, rather than the usual playful glint they usually held. He cast his chocolate eyes away from her emerald ones, walking towards the train.  _That was weird..._ Lily thought. She was confused as to why James had acted so strangely.

OoOoOo

Earlier...

Lily had just gotten to the train station. She heard her name being called. "Lily! LILY! Over here!"

"Eeek! Alice!" Lily ran over and hugged her best friend. "How was your summer? Hows things with Frank? Tell me everything!" At the mention of Frank, Alice's cheeks flushed a pale pink.

"My summer was great! And things with Frank are going amazing. He got me this necklace," Alice said, holding out a sapphire butterfly that hung around her neck. The butterfly flashed brightly as the sun hit against it at different angles.

"Its so pretty! I love it!"

"Thanks. So, Lils, how was you summer? Meet any cute guys?" Alice asked, winking.

Lily laughed. "Well, I-"

"My, my, Lily Evans!" a voice interrupted. "You just get prettier and prettier every year, don't you?"

Lily smiled brightly at the new comer. "Hey, Harrison. You're looking pretty good yourself."

"Aw, you flatter me," Harrison teased.

"Hey, Lily? I'll catch up with you later, okay? I see Frank," Alice said before running over to hug her boyfriend and share a good snog with him.

"So, Lily, how are you this gorgeous day?" Harrison asked, taking a strand of Lily's fiery red hair and twirling it between his fingers. "Pity it has to be wasted on going to school."

"I'm doing great. And whats so bad about school?" Out of the corner of her eye, Lily saw someone walking her direction. She recognized the messy black hair immediately. "Oi! Potter!" He just continued staring forward, his eyes cast downwards. "What, no pre-train pranks?" Still no response. She thought of something that she was 99.9 sure he'd respond to. "What, no asking me out again just so I can say no again?" She was expecting some sort of big reaction, with James immediately asking her out in a joking way, in which she would shoot him down again, as she had done so many times before. She wasn't expecting the dull  _Nope._  she got for an answer, wasn't expecting the dull look of his eyes. James walked away.

"Harrison, I need to go and find Alice. I'll talk to you later, okay?" With that, she ran off to find her friend. "ALICE!" she called when she saw her. "I need to talk to you!"

"What's up?" Alice asking, walking over to Lily, hand in hand with Frank. "Frank, I'll meet you at the compartment, okay?" Frank nodded, walking off.

"Potter is acting really strange. He hasn't tried to pull one prank or ask me out yet! He usually had done two or three of each before he even gets on the train!"

Alice sighed. "Well, what you said to him  _was_ really mean..."

"You heard what I said to him?" Lily asked.

"Yeah. Lily, yo u know that is crazy about you. I bet that really hurt him!"

"He's not crazy about me, he's just putting up an act! He only says all those things for the attention. Thats all he cares about!" Lily exclaimed.

"No he doesn't!" Alice said, exasperated. "Have you ever payed attention when he is looking at you or talking to you? He has real feelings for you!"

"I won't believe it until it is proved to me," Lily said after a few minutes of silence. "I have to go to the prefects meeting right now, I'll talk to you when I get back."

OoOoOo

James was leaning his forehead against the cool glass of the window, his eyes closed. Lily's words kept running through his head:  _So I can just say no again and again..._ What she said had hurt him more than he was willing to admit. He sighed.

"You okay, Prongs?" Peter asked. James slowly opened his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?" Remus and Sirius looked at each other. "Just because Lily rejected me  _again_ , and I didn't even ask her out, why wouldn't I be fine? Who cares if she doesn't love? I don't care. It doesn't even matter, it's not like she'll fall for me." James turned to stare out of the window once again, the faraway look returning to his face.

"James, you care. No matter how hard to try to convince yourself that you couldn't care any less, you know that you really do care," Sirius said. James ignored him. "James..."

"What do you want me to say?" James snapped. "That it kills me that Lily will never love me? That I am so in love with her that it is physically painful? That my heart breaks more every time she rejects me? That I'd rather die than have anything or anyone hurt her, emotionally or physically? It doesn't matter than all of those things are true!" Sirius, Remus, and Peter watched in silence as James put his head back against the window, his eyes closed once again, looking even more depressed than he did before.

Lily heard every word. She was walking past the Mauraders compartment during James outburst. "Oh my god..." she whispered.

_In my day dreams, in my sleep_

_Infatuation turning into disease_

_You could cure me_

_See all you have to now is please try_

_Give it your best shot and try_

_All I'm asking for is love_

_But you never seem to have none._

_Gotta feel you in my bones again_

_I'm all over you, I'm not over you_

_I wanna taste you one more time again_

_I'm all over you, I'm not over you_

_This life is way to short to get caught up in all this stuff_

_**When I just want to love me back** _

_**Why can't you just love me back?** _

_-"All over you" The Spill Canvas_


	2. Chapter 2

Lily ran back to the compartment to speak with Alice, James' 'speech' fresh in her mind. She barged into the compartment without thinking of knocking first. She laughed when she opened the door. Alice and Frank were snogging, oblivious to the outside world. Lily cleared her throat, trying to get the couple's attention.  _Ahem._ No such luck. She tried again.  _Ahem._ Alice and Frank unlocked their lips to refill their burning lungs just long enough to notice Lily standing in the doorway.

"Oh... hi, Lily! How long have you been standing there?" Alice asked, her voice apprehensive.

"Only a few minutes," Lily teased. She looked at Frank. "Frank, can I borrow your girlfriend for a moment? I need to talk to her about something."

Frank nodded. "I need to go and talk to the Mauraders, anyway." He kissed Alice on the cheek. "Love you, Alice. Bye, Lily."

"Bye, Frank!" the girls said in unison, laughing. Once Frank was out of earshot, Alice said, "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" When Lily didn't answer immediately, Alice looked over, concerned. Lily's expression was unreadable. "Lily? What's wrong?" Slowly, Lily began to tell Alice all about what had happened. When she got to the part about James' outburst, Alice gasped. "Lily, I told you that James was totally in love with you! Come on, just give the poor boy a chance!"

"Alice, I don't like him like that! It wouldn't be fair to him," Lily mumbled after a moments hesitation. "I'll be more civil to him, but I will never go out with him."

"Lily, just go talk to him. Maybe you guys can become friends, or something like that," Alice said, assuring her friend. Lily looked away. Alice hugged her. "James is probably feeling heartbroken right now; seeing you would probably make him feel better!"

"If he's upset because of me, that's not going to make him feel better. "

Alice pondering something for a moment. "Lily, I'll be right back. I'm going to... use the loo! Yeah, thats it. I'll be back soon." With that, she got up and left.

Lily sat back, and began to read a book.

OoOoOo

Meanwhile, in the Marauders' compartment, James still had his head pressed against the window, not speaking to anyone. He was still feeling heartbroken. His friends looked back and forth at each other, not sure what exactly they were supposed to do.

Remus looked at his watch. "We better go an get our robes on, you guys, we should be there in thirty minutes or so." Three out of the four Mauraders got up. James hadn't moved. Remus shrugged, and left the compartment. He returned a few minutes later, Sirius and Peter coming in not long after him.

Sirius sighed. "James, you better go get changed." When James didn't answer, Sirius shook him.

"What?" James said, angrily. Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Robes. Go get changed." James got up, and exited the compartment.

"That boy needs help..." Peter mumbled just as Alice walked in.

"Alice! How are you?" Sirius asked. "Your boyfriend was in here not long ago; I think he went to find food."

Alice smiled at Sirius. "Thats just like my Frank." Her nonchalant expression changed to a serious one. "I need to talk to you guys. About James and Lily."

Remus nodded. "We needed to talk to you about that, too. James is heartbroken. We're worried about him."

"So am I," Alice agreed. "Lily still claims she doesn't have feelings for him, but she agreed to be friends with him. Now the question is how to get James to even speak to her again."

"Don't worry, I don't think it'll take much to get him to talk to her. He won't be able to stand not saying anything to her," Peter said, trying to be helpful.

Sirius wasn't so sure. "I don't know... he was really upset earlier. Lily's never hurt him like that before. It's going to take a while for his heart to heal."

"Lily really hurt him this time, didn't she?" Alice asked. She thought about how long she'd been friends with both James and Lily, and she couldn't remember a time that James had been as upset as Sirius was describing him as.

Remus and Sirius looked at each other before each nodded. Remus answered, "I've never seen James this depressed." Right as he finished saying that, James walked in, smiling.

OoOoOo

 _Where in Merlin's name did Alice go?_ Lily thought to herself. She got up to go an find her friend. Opening the door, she heard a  _SLAM!_ She looked out of the compartment cautiously. "Oh, my god! James, I am so sorry!" Lily said in a hurry. She quickly put her hand out to pull James up. James looked up as soon as he heard Lily's voice.  _Oh shit,_ he thought.  _It's her. Exactly who I wanted to see at this very moment._ He inwardly rolled his eyes before grabbing Lily's hand, allowing her to help him up.

"So... how are you?" Lily asked James, trying to meet his eyes. James answered with a  _Are you really asking me this?_ look. "Right. So-"

"Why are you talking to me, Lily?" James asked bitterly. "Is your goal in life to make me completely miserable every time you see me?"

"No! I..." Lily started, then stopped. Had she managed to make him miserable every time they met? She realized that she had. "I'm sorry, James. I didn't realize I was being such a bitch..."

"Answer me truthfully, Lily. Why does the thought of dating me repulse you so much?" James voice cracked as he neared the end of his question. He quickly blinked back tears, praying that Lily didn't notice.

 _Great, I've hurt him again,_ Lily thought to herself as she watched his eyes betray the hurt he was feeling. She wasn't sure how to answer. "I don't know, really... I guess it's because... I don't know," she finally said, knowing fully that James wouldn't like her statement. "Look, maybe we can just be friends? I doubt you know enough about me to really feel the way you claim to."

 _Like hell I don't know anything about her!_ James screamed inside. "Okay. Friends... if that's all we can be, then that's fine by me." He put his hand out. "Friends."

Lily grabbed his hand, and shook it. "Friends."

OoOoOo

 _You know, you pray_  
This can't be the way  
You cry, you say  
Something's gotta change  
And mend this porcelain heart of mine

 _Someone said "A broken heart_  
Would sting at first then make you stronger"  
You wonder why this pain remains  
Were hearts made whole just to break

_-Barlow girl_


	3. Chapter 3

"James, what are you so happy about?" Remus asked his friend at the feast.

James continued to smile as he said, "Lily agreed to be friends with me. It's not as much as I had hoped, but, hey, it's a start!" James beamed at Lily, who smiled back.  _My god, she's so beautiful..._ James thought in awe. Sirius laughed at the love-struck look James was wearing.

"Well, that's good," Sirius said, still laughing. "James, you might want to wipe that love-struck look off of your face, you don't want to scar her off." James stuck his tongue out in response, but quickly sobered his expression.

Down at Alice and Lily's side of the table, a similar conversation was going on.

"So, Lily, you and James are friends now, huh?" Alice asked her friend as she ate.  _Bet both you and James want to be more than "just friends."_

"Yep," Lily answered, nodding. Lily could feel someone's eyes on her. When she turned, she saw James smiling at her. She smiled back.  _Maybe this friendship_ will  _work out..._ she thought to herself.

OoOoOo

A few hours later, James and Lily were in the common room, focusing completely on their homework. Well, Lily was, at least. James was doing his homework, but watching Lily's every move out of the corner of his eye. After a few minutes of Lily watching, he looked down at what he was writing. Ten inches of  _The Effects of Moonstones_ had turned into a fifteen-inch obsession.

"Shit," he mumbled under his breath.

Lily looked up. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," James said, quickly muttering a spell to erase everything that he had written so far. He prayed that Lily hadn't seen anything that he had written.

Unfortunately for him, Lily did see some of the paper. What she saw was,  _Lily is beautiful. The way she is so into her studies, the way the knows everything... wow. Her red hair, cascading down her back, is distracting as hell. Shit, why did I agree to just being friends with her? I want to be so much more than that! I want to be with her forever..._

The note continued like that for a while longer. Lily, still in shock from hearing James conversation with the Mauraders earlier, couldn't believe this side of James that she was seeing. Could Alice be right? Should she give James a chance? She wasn't sure, but a voice in the back of her head was telling her that if she gave James a chance, they'd last. Ignoring the voices in her head, Lily continued to stare off into space. She jumped as she heard her name.

"Lily?" James asked. He was looking at her, curiosity and concern displayed on his face. "Are you okay? You were off in your own little world for a while, and you looked like you were having a problem with something."

"What?' Lily said, snapping out of her trance. "Oh, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind."

"I know what that feels like," James said, laughing. "Makes it hard to concentrate on anything else when something-"  _or someone_ , he mentally added, "won't leave your mind. All you can focus on is that one thing." James smiled encouragingly at Lily. "You want to talk about it?"

"Not particularly," Lily answered. "Do you want to talk about what's on  _your_ mind?" Surprisingly, Lily genuinely wanted to know more about James. What was he thinking about at that very moment?

"Not really..." James said. "Hey, Lily? Just to let you know, you can tell me anything. You know, since we're friends and all."

Lily smiled. "Thanks James, that means a lot to me." She glanced at her watch. Eleven o'clock. She yawned. "Well, James, I am going to go to bed. Nighty night!" She walked past James to the dormitory stairs, hesitated, then came back and gave him a quick hug before returning to the staircase.

"Night Lily!" James called after her. Then, he quietly added, "Love you..."

A few minutes later, James went up to his own dorm, where none of his friends were asleep yet. As soon as he walked into the room, he was bombarded with questions from Sirius.

"Sooooooo," Sirius started. "You and Lily together yet?"

Remus rolled his eyes. "Sirius, shut up. So, James, get any homework done?"

James nodded. "Yeah, some. Lily and I talked more than I actually did any work, though." James changed into his pajamas, then lay down in his bed. "Night, guys."

There came a murmer of  _Night_ s as all of the Mauraders fell asleep.

OoOoOo

The next day, at the great hall, Alice and Lily were talking about Lily's friendship with James.

"So, is James really as big of a prat as you thought he was?" Alice asked, laughing.

"Nope," Lily said in response. "He's actually really... nice." She was still having a hard time believing that James wasn't the jerk that she made him out to be. The fact that he cared about her thoughts surprised her immensely. Both girls looked up as they heard the fluttering of wings as the mail arrived. An owl landed in front of Lily. Lily picked up the letter, paling as she read it. When she got to the end, she burst into tears, and ran out of the Great Hall.

"LILY!" Alice called to her friend, but let her friend leave. She understood that, when upset, Lily needed to be by herself for a little while.

While exiting the Great Hall, Lily nearly crashed into Remus and Sirius. As they walked to the table, the two boys gave each other  _What just happened?_ looks. Remus was the first to ask. "Alice, what was wrong with Lily? She was crying."

Alice nodded. "She got a letter. I don't know what happened, but whatever it was upset her."

"Why didn't you go after her?" Sirius asked, puzzle. Alice was Lily's best friend. If Lily was upset, why didn't she go after her?

"Lily just needed to be alone for a little while," Alice answered. Suddenly, noticing someone was missing, she asked, "Hey, where's James? Isn't he, like, always with you two?"

"James had some homework left to do before classes start. He got something to eat from the kitchen, so he'll be fine," Remus answered. "Speaking of classes, we better be going to those now."

"Aww, Remy, do we have to?" Sirius whined. "We just got here!"

"So? We need to leave!' Remus answered. "And don't call me Remy!"

OoOoOo

During Transfiguration, James was concerned. Where was Lily? She was never absent! What if something serious happened to her? What if she was trapped in a closet? What if someone had hurt her? What if-

His thoughts were interrupted by an angry McGonnagall. "Mr. Potter! I asked you a question, I expect an answer!"

"Um... could you repeat the question, please?" James asked, turning a light red.

McGonnagall sighed. "What is the spell to turn a cockroach into a pillow?"

After answering, James went back to his thoughts. He continued to worry, through out all of his classes.

At the end of the day, he asked Remus, "Hey, do you mind if I borrow your notes from today? I need to copy them."

"Sure. But, where were you during classes today?" Remus asked. "You were in a daze the entire day."

"Lily wasn't in any of her classes. What if something happened to her? What if she's hurt somewhere?'

Sirius and Remus exchanged looks. "Umm...yeah... we probably should have told you earlier, but Lily got a letter, and she ran off crying at breakfast this morning..."

"WHAT?!" James exclaimed. "Why didn't you mention that earlier?"

"'Cause Alice said that Lily would want to be left alone," Remus said.

"Plus, we forgot until now," Sirius added. James ran off. "Where are you going?" Sirius called.

"To find Lily!" James yelled over his shoulder as he ran the direction of the girls dormitories. Not long after, he was running out of the common room.  _I'll find you, Lily, and I'll help you with whatever is going on..._

OoOoOo

 _I am not a hero_  
I am not an angel  
I am just a man  
Man who's trying to love her  
Unlike any other  
In her eyes I am

 _This world keeps on spinning  
Only she stills my heart  
She's my inspiration  
She's my northern star  
I don't count my possession  
All I call mine_  
 _I will give her completely_  
To the end of all time

_-"In her eyes" by Josh Groban_


	4. Chapter 4

James ran all over the castle. He searched every classroom and corridor in the entire school. He even checked the Room of Requirement! So why was it that he couldn't find her?

James stopped in the middle of a hallway. "I should have started with that..." James ran out of the school, and down to the lake. He skidded to a stop about ten feet away from a tree. There she was. At her favorite tree, her head on her knees, her body shaking as she sobbed. James walked over to her.

"Lily?" He asked. "What happened?" Lily didn't answer, just held out a tear-stained letter. James took the letter, and quietly read it to himself.

_Dear Lily,_

_There has been an accident here at home. Your parents and baby sister, Natasha, were driving to the doctors office for Natasha check up. It was raining cats and dogs. A young man wasn't paying attention about what he was doing or how fast he was going, and he hit your parents car. Your dad tried to keep the car from going off the road, but he was going to fast. The car flipped over, and landed in a ditch._

_I'm sorry, sweetie, but your parents and Natasha are dead. The funeral service is on Saturday. I've already spoken to your headmaster, he said that he will set up a way for you to come home to be with me and Petunia that weekend._

_I'm sorry,_

_Grandma Felice_

"Oh, my God, Lily, I am so sorry," James said. He sat down next to Lily, and put his arm around her. He pulled her close, letting her cry on his shoulder.

"Why did they have to die?" Lily moaned, her voice barely audible as she cried. "My parents were so young! Natasha hadn't even reached her second birthday yet..."

"It'll be okay, Lily. I'll be here for you. Whatever you need, just tell me. I'll help you get through this," James assured the crying girl. He kissed the top of her head, and held her even closer than he was before. His shirt was getting all wet, but he didn't care. All he cared about was how the girl he was holding felt. It broke his heart to see her upset.  _No one deserves to go through something like this..._ James thought.

After a few more minutes, Lily finally stopped crying. "Thank you, James," she hiccuped. She looked at his shirt. "I got your shirt all wet. I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry for that. Anytime you feel like soaking my clothes, go ahead," James joked. He stood up, pulling Lily with him. When both were standing, James hugged Lily. "It's going to be okay. Do you want me to go to the funeral with you? Having a friend there might make help you." James put the pads of one of his thumbs under Lily's eyes, wiping away her tears. He left his hand one the side of her face, his other hand still holding her in a hug.

Lily hugged James back. "Yes, I would appreciate it if you came to the funeral with me. I don't know if I would be able to make it if someone wasn't there to keep me together."

"Do you want to go back up to the castle now?"

"Not really," Lily admitted. "We have a few hours until curfew, lets just stay out here, and just talk for a while. I don't exactly want to face other people right now."

"I totally understand." James led Lily over to a bench, and motioned for her to sit down. When they both were seated, they began to learn more about each other.

OoOoOo

That night, Mauraders' dorm:

James walked into the dorm about twenties minutes after curfew. He and Lily had spent two and a half hours talking. Remus and Sirius looked up when James entered, taken in his still slightly-wet shoulder.

"Did you find her?" Remus asked. James nodded. "Where?"

"By her favorite tree," James answered, shrugging.

"What made her cry like that?"

James hesitated.  _Should I tell them? Or would that betray Lily?_ James wasn't sure if Lily would get mad at him for telling anyone. He decided it was better for them to know in advance than have them ask her. "Her parents and younger sister were killed in a car wreck the other day. The funeral is on Saturday." Sirius and Remus looked at James in shock. Well, that definitely made Lily's actions make sense. "Don't mention anything about her family around her, please. I'm going with her to the funeral, to keep her together, but she is going to be struggling for a while."

"Don't worry, we won't," both of the boys assured their friend.

OoOoOo

Back in the girls' dorm, Lily couldn't sleep. James had been so nice to her... and now he wouldn't leave her mind. She didn't understand. She had spent all those years hating him... and now she got butterflies at the sight of him. She and him had  _just_ become friends, how could she like him so quickly? Unless... no, that wasn't a possibility. There was no way that she had liked him before now.

Lily sighed. She didn't like him  _now,_ did she? She needed to talk to Alice.

"Alice! Up!" Lily said, trying to wake her friend up. When that didn't work, she said, "Oh, my gosh! PEANUT M&Ms!" (a/n: just like SOMEONE I know! :coughSARAHcough:) "WHERE ARE THE PEANUT M&MS?"

Lily burst out laughing. She threw the bag to Alice. "Good, now that your awake... I need to talk to you."

"What about?" Alice asked, popping the candy into her mouth.

"James."

"OOOOOO! Okay, what about James? Confused about your feelings about him?" When Lily nodded, Alice continued, "So, what exactly do you feel when you are around him?"

"I don't know. Why do you think I'm asking for your help?" Lily said.

Alice laughed. "Lily, just answer the question. What do you feel when you are around him?"

"I feel... I don't know. Happy, I guess? My heart beats really fast, and I feel sort of... peaceful."

"I think you like him," Alice said, smirking.

Only one thought popped into Lily's mind.  _Oh shit._

OoOoOO

 _And I hate how much I love you boy_  
I can't stand how much I need you  
And I hate how much I love you boy  
But I just can't let you go  
And I hate that I love you so

_-"Hate that I love You" by Rihanna_


	5. Chapter 5

Lily got up on a Saturday morning a few days later.  _What a beautiful day!_ she thought as she looked out the window. It wasn't until a few moments later did she remember what was going on that day. The funeral of her parents and her baby sister. She stiffled a sob as her friend, Alice, awoke.

"Lily?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

Lily shook her head. "I'm fine, Alice. Go back to bed."

Alice sat up, concerned. "Are you sure you're fine, Lily? It's totally okay for you to be upset today. No one will think anything of it."

"No one will see me, anyways. Well, at least no one you would know. Except for James. You know him." Lily stood and, walking over to her bureau, got out a black skirt and blouse. She bit back tears as a picture fell out of her jacket pocket. It was a picture of her family, the day after Natasha was born. They all looked so happy. Even Petunia was smiling.

Lily looked at the clock on the wall. "I have to go meet James now. Bye, Alice." Alice came over and gave Lily a big hug.

"Bye, Lils." Lily walked out of the dorm, and down the stairs into the common room, where James was already waiting for her. He, like Alice, hugged Lily tight to him.

"Come on, we need to go to Dumbledore's office to floo to your grandmother's house," James said after he released Lily. Lily stiffly nodded. When they were about halfway to Dumbledore's office, James asked, "Are you okay?"

Lily's eyes glazed over. "I am sick of everyone asking me if I'm okay!" she exclaimed. "Of course I'm not okay! I'm a fucking orphan now! My sister is dead! How would I be okay?" Lily promptly burst into tears, sobs racking her tiny body. James wrapped his arms around her once again.

"It'll be okay, Lily," he said, trying to soothe her. "If you need anything, I'm here. I'll help you, Lily."

Lily just started to cry harder. "Come on, James," she said through her tears, "we need to go now." She and him walked to the office, and flooed to Lily's grandmother's house.

OoOoOo

(A/n: I don't really know how to write this funeral scene... so I'm not going to. If you are wondering where the scene skipped to, Lily and James are in the common room after the funeral, and Lily is still rather upset.)

Lily had her head on James' should, crying once again. "I just don't get why they had to die, James. They were my parents! Where am I supposed to go now? Petunia doesn't want anything to do with me, I can't stay with her, and all my other relatives live too far away! Where will I live during breaks and holidays?"

James bit his lip, debating over whether or not he should respond.  _Screw it,_ he thought as he blurted out, "You could live with me." He felt his cheeks flush as he looked away, slightly nervous about looking at Lily.

Lily smiled through her tears. "Thanks, James, that would be nice." James glanced at her and, when he saw she was smiling, grinned at her. He looked at the clock.

"Its getting late, Lils. You should go to bed." Lily nodded, and got up and walked towards the stairs. She obviously changed her mind, as she came back and kissed James on the cheek before darting up to her room. James smiled and put a hand to his cheek before heading up to bed.

OoOoOo

 _So I won't hesitate no more, no more_  
It cannot wait I'm sure  
There's no need to complicate  
Our time is short  
This is our fate, I'm yours  
-"I'm Yours" Jason Mraz


	6. Chapter 6

"Good morning!" James said as he sat down in the Great Hall, clearly in a good mood. He looked down the table and gave Lily a huge smile. She shyly smiled back at him before rejoining the conversation with her girlfriends.

"You seem like you are in a good mood this morning," said Sirius, who wasn't a morning person, grumpily.

"I am in an  _amazing_ mood this morning! Even Snivellus couldn't mess with me today!"

"Something must have happened with Lily," Remus said, chuckling. James nodded excitedly.

"She agreed to come with me during holidays and the summer since she has no where else to go! Isn't that great?" James said dreamily. He drifted off into his own little world, imagining different scenarios involving him and Lily.

Remus smiled at James. "Congrats, mate. Seems like the two of you are getting along better and better everyday." Remus glanced at Sirius, who had his head down on the table. Sleeping. Of course. Rolling his eyes, Remus said, "Oh look! A bunch of Ravenclaw girls are taking their clothes off!"

Sirius sprung up, shouting, "Where? BOOBS!" Looking around, Sirius noticed that there was no girls stripping. He sat down, embarrassed. He coughed, "And that, friends, was a scene from my favorite movie, Simon Birch!" A few students sniggered as teachers cast glares Sirius' way. Sirius turned, glaring at Remus. "Remy, that was mean!"

"So?" Remus said, laughing. "It was funny to see your reaction!"

"Rawr," Sirius said.

"Bite me," Remus retorted.

"Gladly," Sirius said, snapping his teeth like an alligator Remus' way. Remus just started to laugh.

"You two are crazy. Just get together already!" James said, now also laughing. Sirius rolled his eyes before looking at Remus. When Remus' eyes met Sirius', Sirius looked away, blushing. James just continued to laugh at the pair.

Remus glanced at his watch. "Come on you guys, its time for potions." Remus looked up as Sirius started to groan. "Oh, zip it Sirius. You can work with me as usual." Sirius face brightened immensely, although it darkened again when he heard James mutter  _Love birds_ under his breath. The pair began to walk to potions as James stayed behind to ask Lily if she wanted to work with him.

"Hey, Lily," he said when he saw her. "Want to work with me?"

"Sure, why not," Lily said, smiling brightly at James. James smiled back, giving Lily butterflies.  _Stop it,_ she said to the butterflies.  _You can't like him. You'll end up hurting him, somehow._

"Cool," James said. He and Lily started walking to potions.

"So, what do you think we're going to be making today?" Lily asked James.

"When I ran into Sluggy this morning before breakfast he told me that we would be making something that'd apply to our interests. Maybe we are making a love potion or something?"

"Yeah, probably. If we make Amortenia I bet that Prof. Slughorn is going to be asking everyone what they smell, since it'll be different for all of us," Lily answered.

"Yeah," James agreed. Sure enough, when James and Lily arrived to the Potions classroom, the board said that they were indeed going to be making Amortenia.

After all of the students had arrived, Professor Slughorn stood and addressed the class. "Good morning, everyone. Today we are going to be making a love potion: Amortenia. Be very careful not to accidentally ingest this potion. We don't want any accidental love in here, do we? Everyone have a partner? Yes? Good. You may begin now."

After forty-five minutes had passed, Slughorn stood up again. "Alright, is everyone done?" After everyone in the class had nodded, he said, "Okay then. I'm going to need a sample of everyone's potion. But first-" he took out a vial of his own from the example in the front of the room- "I want everyone to tell me what they smell when I put this vial under their nose." He walked over to Remus and Sirius first. Both boys paled. "Okay boys, I want you both to be honest about what it is that you smell. Mr. Black, I want to you go first.

Sirius nodded and took a whiff of the potion. "I smell books, chocolate, and ink. And something else. It's kind of... foresty. I don't know how exactly to describe it." Slughorn nodded, and passed the potion to Remus.

"It smells like some sort of spicey cologne. And like a do-" Remus stopped and looked down.

"I'm sorry boy, didn't quite catch that last part. What did you say it smelt like?" The professor asked.

Remus continued to look at the floor. "I said it smells like a dog."

"Interesting..." Lily whispered. James looked at her.

"What? What's interesting?" He whispered back. Lily shook her head. "No, really, what?"

"They smell each other. James, is it possible that your best friends are in love with each other?"

James nodded. "I've been thinking that for a while now. Just haven't figured out how to get them together."

Lily nodded. As she was about to speak, the professor walked by. "Alright, James, your turn!" James smiled as he smelled the potion.

"Books and ink. And flowers," James said, blushing. He had to admit, he really enjoyed what he smelled. It smelled like Lily. He looked at her to see that the was looking at her hands, twiddling her fingers nervously.

As the vial was about to be passed Lily, the bell rang.  _Thank Merlin,_ she thought to herself. She knew exactly what she was going to smell. She bolted from the room before James even got a chance to say anything to her.

She ran to her dorm room, completely forgetting that she still had a full day of classes to attend to. When she arrived at her dorm, she jumped into her bed, which is where she stood for the rest of the day.

OoOoOo

"Has anyone seen Miss Evans?" Prof. McGonagall asked at the beginning of Transfiguration. James raised his hand. "Yes, James?"

"She wasn't feeling very good in Potions. She told me to tell you that the stress of past events have caught up with her and has made her sick," James lied smoothly, yet convincingly.

"Alright, then," Minerva said. "Well then, James, since you are so close to Miss Evans, tell her I hope she feels better. Take notes for her, please."

"Yes, ma'am," James answered as he started a second notesheet.

OoOoOo

That night:

"Lily!" Alice called into the dormitory. When she said the lump in Lily's bed, Alice jumped on it. "Lily! Up!"

"What?" Lily mumbled groggily.

"Why weren't you in class this morning? James told McGonagall that you were sick because you were stressed, but I don't think that's the real reason. So, where were you?"

"Shit!" Lily exclaimed. "I completely forgot about classes!"

Alice rolled her eyes. "Ya think?" she said. "Does why you skipped class have to do with why you bolted at the end of potions?"

Lily nodded. "I smelled James in the potion... but, Alice, I can't be falling for him! It's impossible!"

"No it's not, Lily! We already knew you were starting to like him, why does it shock you so much that you're falling for him?"

"I don't know. It just does," Lily said.

"Lily... you might not like it when I say this, but I really think you should at least try dating James. See what comes of it," Alice said slowly.

Lily looked at the ground before getting up and walking towards the door. "Where are you going, Lily?" Alice asked.

"To do what I should have done ages ago!" Lily said, running down the stairs, out of the common room, and down to the Quiddich pitch. "JAMES!" she called when she saw the Gryffindor team walking off the field.

"Yeah, Lily?" James said. Lily smiled at him, making his knees go weak. She took a step closer to him. "Um, Lily, what are you doing?"

"I'm doing what I should have done a long time ago." Lily leaned forward and pressed her lips against James' lips. Fireworks exploded in both of their heads. Lily pulled away. Breathlessly, she asked, "Go out with me?"

OoOoOo

 _Do you ever think_  
When you're all alone  
All that we could be  
Where this thing could go  
Am I crazy or falling in love?

_-"Crush" by David Archuleta_


	7. Chapter 7

**EPILOGUE**

A year later:

It was two days before the Mauraders' and Lily would have to leave Hogwarts to enter the real world. The Mauraders where sitting near the lake talking, and Lily was off somewhere with some of her friends. James was leaning against a tree, Peter was staring idly at the water, Sirius was sitting on the grass, and Remus was laying on the ground, his head on Sirius' lap.

"Hey, James, what's up with you?" Sirius asked, concerned for his best mate. "You're not very talkative today. And you keep doing that thing with your fingers."

"It's called 'twiddling', Siri," Remus corrected, laughing.

"Oh, zip it," Sirius teased back, lightly punching his boyfriend on the the arm. He looked back at James. "Seriously though, what's the matter?"

"It's just... I'm nervous," James answered softly.

"Why?"

"Because... I'm going to propose to Lily tonight," James admitted, "and I'm afraid that she's going to say no."

"Why would she say no?" Remus asked. "She loves you like crazy. Of course she's going to say yes!"

"I don't know, I'm just worried. I've spent so long dreaming about marrying her, and I still can't believe I'm dating a woman as wonderful as her."

Sirius laughed. "Mate, you've been dating her for over a year. And you still can't believe that you're dating her? Nice, man."

"Oh, shut up," James answered, laughing as well. Remus rolled his eyes at the pair, and Peter continued to stare out at the lake.

"So, when are you going to do it?" Remus asked, looking over at James from his place on the ground.

"Tonight, after Graduation," James said, his face widening as he smiled. He couldn't wait until the day that he could call Lily Evans his wife.

"Ooh. Romantic," Remus commented before looking expectantly at Sirius.

"What?" Sirius asked once he noticed that way that Remus was looking at him.

Remus sighed. "Don't worry about it. It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then." Sirius looked at the sky. "It looks like it's going to rain. We should go inside; we don't want to get soaked before graduation."

"Of course, because we wouldn't want your hair getting messed up," Peter said, finally joining in on the conversation. James snorted, and the four boys got up and went inside.

Once they got near the common room, Remus said, "Hey, I'm going to go to the Library for a little bit. I don't really need to get ready or anything like that."

Peter nodded and said, "Well, I'm off to find Michelle. Bye you guys."

"Okay," Sirius said, kissing Remus goodbye. "Me and James will just chill for a while then."

"Yep," James said. Sirius and James walked up to their dorm. Sirius sat down on his bed, as did James. "So..."

"So what?" Sirius answered.

"When are you going to propose to Remus?" James asked, looking at Sirius.

"Um... why?"

James rolled his eyes. "Because Remus obviously wants to marry you, as he hinted earlier. So, when are you going to do it?"

"Well, actually..." Sirius said, getting up and walking over to his trunk. He pulled out a small box. "I got the ring a few months ago. Just haven't had the nerves to ask him."

"You should do it tonight!" James exclaimed. Sirius nodded.

"Okay. I will. How should I do it, though?"

"Hmmmm..."

OoOoOo

After graduation:

James and Lily walked down to a garden on the Hogwarts campus, their fingers interlaced. James led Lily over to a bench, and motioned for her to sit down. They sat down.

"I can't believe that we leave Hogwarts forever tomorrow," Lily said.

"I know. It feels like just yesterday that I got sorted into Gryffindor as a first year. Time has gone by so quickly."

"I know. It's scary."

James nodded. "Hey, there's something I want to do."

"What is it?" Lily asked. James smiled before he pulled a box out of his pocket and bent down on one knee. Lily gasped. "Oh, my God..." she whispered, her hand covering her mouth.

"I love you, Lily. I always have and I always will. I want to spend forever with you. Will you marry me?" James asked, smiling. Lily, too in shock to speak, nodded her acceptance. James' smile broadened. He pulled Lily into a tight embrace. "I love you so much, Lily."

Lily kissed James before saying, "I love you too, James. More than anything." The newly-engaged couple stayed at the bench a moment before going back to their friends.

"Lily!" Remus called once he saw the couple. He ran over to her.

"Hey, Remus," Lily answered, smiling. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"Me and James got engaged!" Lily exclaimed, holding up her hand to show the ring to Remus. (Note: The ring is on the bottom of the page!)

"Congrats, Lily!" Remus said, pulling Lily into a hug. Sirius walked over once the embrace had ended and wrapped his arms around Remus' waist tenderly. "We got engaged, too!" Remus showed Lily the ring: a silver band with a ruby embedded within it. (also below.)

"Yay!" Lily answered. Remus and Sirius smiled at each other before sharing a brief kiss.

As the night ended, everyone began to say their goodbyes to all of the classmates that they wouldn't be seeing again. They shared memories and stories, both good and bad, before they began the rest of their life.

**The End.**

_Whoa!_  
This is you, this is me  
Whoa!  
This who we're meant to be  
We are the real the truth is unchanging  
This is a call to hearts that are feeding  
Whoa!

_-"The Real" by Neverless_


End file.
